An interview with Annemarie Jacir on 18 June 2010, before the beginning of her mentoring year with Zhang Yimou.
Can you tell me what your new film is about and when it will be released?
My new film, set in the late 1960s, is about a mother and son who become refugees from Palestine to Jordan. It continues the thread of my first feature, Salt of the Sea. While the film is a coming-of-age story about a boy, it is really about borders. I am obsessed with borders – I dislike them so much. The plight of refugees all over the world is another theme of mine. As we still need to complete financing, shooting may be postponed from fall to spring, but we’re still not sure.
Do you envision sharing the knowledge you receive from Zhang Yimou with other young film-makers?
Absolutely. There are few opportunities to learn about film in the Middle East. However, a real thirst for knowledge about films exists, especially about cinema from the East. I am currently teaching a screen-writing course and I hope to pass on what I learn from Zhang Yimou to my students. The way he designs and creates films is unique. Of course, I am not Zhang Yimou nor a master of cinema, but I will try my best to pass along what I can.
Have you ever had a mentor before?
No, I have not had a real mentor. When I attended film school at Columbia University in New York, two professors, in particular, took me under their wing. But a real mentoring programme offers what no film school can. As a young film-maker there are basic things you need advice on, but I have had few people to turn to. The situation is beginning to change as there are more and more film-makers working here. We still have a long way to go, though, before film mentorship is a common practice. For right now, I am trying to share my knowledge with others and to seek my own inspiration too.
How do you expect to benefit from the mentoring experience?
Basically, I would like to improve my craft. And film-making is a craft. We can never stop learning and I am sure that I will benefit from being part of all stages of Zhang Yimou’s work on his latest film. For example, I hope to observe how he works with his editor, his director of photography, his art director. I have carried out many jobs on Hollywood sets, but I was not near the decision-making process. I have never worked with a master of his craft before and I look forward to being inspired by such an artist.
What key knowledge do you expect to acquire from your mentor?
As a young director in the Middle East, I work in a very different way from Zhang Yimou. My low-budget films are made guerrilla style. We often shoot until the police stop us! Zhang Yimou’s films are much bigger productions. That said, he was part of a new generation of film-makers who set out to tell personal stories. As an Arab film-maker, I am similarly trying to present personal stories, an approach he can help me develop. Also, Zhang Yimou deals with historical issues, which interests me. I look forward to learning how to bring history alive in my films and make it relevant to the present day.
What are some of the difficulties that film-makers face in the developing world?
In speaking about the Middle East, we lack a support system here, especially by the government. Jordan has a film commission, but there is not a lot of support on the ground in other places. Raising funds for films is a big struggle – like it is all over the world. Today, there are a lot of Gulf film festivals offering funding, but there is the threat of censorship. As film-makers, we must be independent.
Can you please comment on how Zhang Yimou’s films influenced you at an early stage in your life?
I grew up in Saudi Arabia where there was no theatre and cinema. This changed when I was 17 and moved to the United States. One of the first films I rented from Blockbuster [video rental store] was Raise the Red Lantern. I immediately felt moved and artistically connected to it. It was the beginning of my film education that cinema was not just Hollywood. Later, in New York, where I was studying, I attended film festivals and saw more of Zhang Yimou’s work. His films are like paintings. They are both socially and politically rich.
How can you communicate with your mentor, as he does not speak English and you do not speak Chinese?
Despite the language barrier, when I met Zhang Yimou at the interview, he was very warm and we got along very well. We were even able to joke [with the help of a translator]. Language is not just about words, but about understanding and communication. I have lived in many countries and you learn how to communicate in other ways. I think we connected when we met and will continue to do so in our future work together.
Have your distinctions at the Cannes film festival had an impact on your career?
Having my short film like twenty impossibles chosen [as an Official Selection] at Cannes really put me on the radar and had a profound effect on my career. French producers saw the film there and because they liked it they decided to back my first feature, Salt of the Sea. They were willing to take a risk with me as a first-time feature director and also as a woman director. The film [the first feature film by a female Palestinian director] won the FIPRESCI Critics Award and was an entry for Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards. Getting a second feature off the ground is proving more difficult in some ways.
Do you envisage living in Jordan, your new home, permanently?
My next film will be shot in Jordan and I will be here for a year or two. After that, who knows?